Carrot Puree (Mashed Carrots)

As promised, here is the recipe for carrot purée that I served with my tapenade chicken the other day. I flavored the dish with rosemary, mustard, cumin and almond butter. The almond butter both thickens the purée and provides a nutty flavor.

It's a lighter, healthier version of the creamy mashed potatoes we served for Thanksgiving. Sweet potatoes and carrots are a great source of vitamin A and potassium. But don't get me wrong, healthier doesn't mean less flavorful. If you've read my many of my past recipes, you know that I'm not shy about using full fat ingredients. In this particular dish, I just don't think it's necessary to get that unctuous, creamy mouth-feel. Using the cooking techniques in the recipe, you'll be able to convince even the most anti-health food person in your life that the dish is loaded with heavy cream and butter.

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3.15.10

Crepe Party: La Chandeleur

Today (February 2nd) is La Chandeleur and crêpes are part of the French celebration. For those who don't know, a crêpe is a very thin pancake. The legend says that if you catch the crêpe flat (without it being wrinkled) with a pan after tossing it in the air with your left hand while holding a coin in your right hand, you will have a prosperous year until the next Chandeleur.


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Cashew Apricot Brown Sugar Cookies

The big girls went out to their friends' this weekend and my little munchkin stayed home with us. She had the brilliant idea of making sweet cookies with me, and I was happy to oblige. She's only 5 years old but she's already a very strong-minded little girl. She went into the pantry and picked a bunch of ingredients and we were ready to roll.

"Jackie, can we make cashew apricot brown sugar cookies with Mrs. Winsor's honey? Please, pretty please!" she asked.

"Dried fruit and nuts in cookies? Why not!" I exclaimed.

I can never say "no" to mon p'tit coeur (my little sweetheart). I suggested that we add candied ginger and cinnamon extract and she was ok with it. I'm glad we used our family friend Mrs. Winsor's honey. She makes her own honey on her property in Virginia and sent some to us for Christmas. We've already gone through one bottle and these honey cookies got us started off on the second. I'm glad we didn't use molasses because this particular honey has such a nice floral note. The cookies turned out absolutely delicious. Merci Mrs. Winsor!!

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Olive Tapenade Chicken Rolls

Olive tapenade is extremely versatile and can be used as a spread or filling in many different dishes. You can also use it in place of more traditional party dips such as hummus, guacamole, salsa or roasted bell pepper spread. In this recipe, I added goat cheese to the tapenade and used the mixture as a filling for chicken rolls. I served the dish with a mildly sweet carrot purée that makes an excellent foil to the savory flavor of the tapenade.

If it's not part of your culinary repertoire yet, you should definitely learn to prepare tapenade. It will open up a whole new world of easy to prepare, delectable dishes.

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Fresh Garbanzo Beans (Chana)

Whether they're called chana, garbanzos or chickpeas, most people are probably familiar with the dried version of this versatile legume. Fresh chana beans however, may be new to many, but are delicious in their own right and deserve to be used more. They taste very different from the canned or dried version; they have a mild sweetness with a light, buttery, tender texture. If you're looking for a snack, fresh garbanzos are a great a source of fiber, protein and iron.


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